Paralyzed 23-year-old walks at graduation, shares message of hope
A 23-year-old man walked across the stage at his college graduation Saturday with the help of an exoskeleton, nearly two years after a life-changing accident left him paralyzed from the chest down.
“It's not the way I imagined walking across the stage but it really, really meant a lot to me," Jaiden Picot told ABC News Monday about receiving his degree from Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.
Picot said he became paralyzed after sustaining a spinal injury and nerve damage in an August 2024 accident, when he was hit by a truck while riding an electric scooter.
Although the accident upended Picot's life, he has made significant strides since then through daily physical and occupational therapy with the Sheltering Arms Institute, a physical rehabilitation facility in Richmond.
“When I started working with Sheltering Arms Institute, there were actually a few other people that had used the exoskeleton before me, and once I [saw] that, I immediately [knew] that's something that I wanted to do,” Picot said.
An exoskeleton is a wearable device and a type of walking therapy that helps people with spinal cord injuries, according to Sheltering Arms Institute.
Picot said that he was especially motivated to walk at his college graduation because he did not have a formal high school graduation ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Picot said he balanced rehab and school full-time, logging into his classes from the hospital but never giving up on his goals. He also trained to use the exoskeleton, which works by responding to his swaying movements.
“It was really hard in the beginning because I [would] have medical problems with standing up and moving. So I had to train hard, really, every day with the [exoskeleton] to … get the strength to [move] my legs,” Picot explained.
Picot's mom Akilah Parker told ABC News she was "front and center" at her son's graduation and couldn't be more proud of him.
“Seeing him in that moment, it was just, I can't even explain how proud I was,” Parker said. “I am so proud of my son for not giving up on himself and just believing in the goals that he has.”
Now that he has earned his degree, Picot said he plans to pursue a real estate career and hopes to focus on helping people with disabilities find homes that accommodate their needs.
Picot said he hopes his story offers others hope during challenging times.
“I want people to see that even though we all go through hard times, we can do hard things and persevere through them,” he said.
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